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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 069 794 1 



DEDICATION OF THE TABLET 

IN COMMEMORATION OF 

Oth^ (DlJi cilunnrl 

BY THE 

LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 




:; £ COM!) M ?; ^".r i m "^ h o u 5 ?! 



u L. jj i u J J i J ii- 1^ 




i;^ 



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PLACED ON THE MEETING-HOUSE OF THE 

iFtrj^t (£intyrryattxiual ttliurrb 

LYNN, MASS. 

June Thirteenth, Nineteen Hundred Nine 



©lip (il& ®tmupl 

AN HISTORICAL CENTER 



F7t 



While in an ecclesiastical sense, the Old Tunnel which forms the emblem of 
the seal of the Lynn Historical Society was only one of the five meeting houses 
on various portions of the parish tract occupied by the same living church, yet 
this tablet commemorates the venerable structure more especially as a forum for 
the people of Lynn during the century and a (luarter when the Puritans solved 
problems of local self-government, developed an isolateil theocratic Colony in- 
to an enduring Commonwealth, and established the New England Confederacy 
which was the precm'sor of the United States. 

Their conscious strength imparted a spirit of liberty, and independence, 
which was known and feared in England. 

The dies of the Pine Tree coinage, which were designed and sunk at the 
Saugus Iron ^^"orks in 1652, was the first act of independence by its treasonable 
omission of any reference to the King. 

John Evelyn's diary, May 26, 1671, says of this people, ''There was a fear 
of their breaking away from all dependence on this nation (England)," and 
on August 3, 1671, the Council voted to send a deputy to the Colony on an 
ostensible mission, but "secretly to learn whether they were of such power 
as to resist his Majesty, and to declare for themselves." 

In this Meeting House, the separation of town and parish, March 5, 1721-22, 
was an unprecedented step towards civic freedom and religious liberty, being 
a forerunner of the se})aration of Church and State. 

To recount the deeds wrought in this edifice would require a paraphrase 
of the Historj' of Massachusetts reaching to events beyond its borders. 

The peojile here took action an<l furnished men and munitions for the wars 
with savages, the French and the Mother Country. 

Practically every Lynn man able to bear arms was in his country's service 
at some time during the eight years of the Revolution. 

The militia were organized and equipped with hunting rifles, which proved 
to be so nuicli superior to the Kings' Arms of the Regulars as to change tactics 
and accoutrements, in every army in Europe. 

The town did not furnish men recruited directly from the plough, but 
trained troops ready to be summoned by a coujile of shots — Minute Men. 

A town meeting went bodily to Boston in 16SS to oppose the tryanny of 

Andros the Colonial Covernor. Other meetings resisted the demand of Charles II, 

'for the surrender of the Charter of Massachusetts Bay, protests were made 

{against the stamp act of 1765, and the following year its repeal celebrated by 

bell and guns. 

In 1744 the Town laid in a stock of powder which was kept under the floor 
of the meeting house, and another supply pi'ociu'ed in 1774 as the war of the 
revolution was long foreseen. 

When English Men-of-War arrived in Boston, September 28, 1768, to over- 
awe the Colony, Lynn held a fast day. 

The town denoimced the tax on tea May 24, 1770. 

On December 16, 1773, a town meeting passed resolutions asserting their 
"right of freedom" — the famous Declaration at Philadelphia followed later, 
on July 4, 1776. 

These town meetings and other civic occasions were held in this meeting 
house until 1806, after which it became a purely ecclesiastical edifice. 

Many recortls are missing, some of them impaired, and the remainder are 
disappointing in their brevity, but the vestiges establish its character as an 
historical center of great worth in its day and to be prized as a heritage of Ameri- 
can citizenship. 

THE MEETING HOUSE 

This memorial (ablet was modeled in clay by Charles A. Lawrence of Lynn, 
and cast in bronze by the Murdock-Shaw Company of Boston. 

The bas relievo is based upon a sketch by Alonzo Lewis, showing the 
western entrance, and represents the structure in 1771 after the belfry had been 
placed on the bell deck, and before the gables had been removed. 

The meeting house was situated on a knoll in the middle of the Common, 
diagonally opposite the present First Congregational Meeting House, and to 
the west of the present flagstaff, and a bank wall ran across the Common on 
the easterly side of this elevation. 

The building was framed of oak and was about 44 by 50 feet. It was white- 
washed inside and clapboarded and painted outside. The middle of the hipped 
roof bore a square bell deck, which was covered with lead in 1699. The roof 
was open underneath and not sheathed until 1737. 



^ L^'Je'Og d" 



The roof timbers were hewn from oak trees felled on the Common and the 
remaiiulerjof the lumber was cut in .Mcotiii-; House .Swamp in the Lynn Woods. 

Galleries ranj^ed on tlirfc sides and were rcafhcd by stairways' in the rear 
corners. 

The bell rope hinifi near the (•enter aisle and an enclosed space ainoiif^ the 
pews was provided for the rinf^er. ihe windows wen; glazed with diamond- 
shaped panes set in lead sashes whicli swunji '>'• liin;;es. I'liese wintlows were 
secured November 12, 1 772, to prevent breaking of {jlass. On .lune '.iO, 177.'), 
it was "voted to .sell the old windows for what they would fetch," the evident 
piU'pose at that time, bein<; the expected need of bullets. 

At first the pew.s were open benches :is in I'.nglish churches, but severe 
winters caused the Puritans to devise closed pews which would hcjld the heat 
of the foot-stoves. These pews were pens, .some of oak and others of pine, dilTer- 
ing in size and sha|)e, generally with .scroll work on the tops, and clo.sed by doors, 
and the seats arountl the iii,si<le with .sometimes a chair or two in the niiddlc. 
These box pews were removed December 11, LSI I, ami new pews built. 

The locations of the.se pews were doubtless the cause of the cont ro\ersies 
which reiiuired a council -November 10, Hi<tl, including Kev. Cotton .Mather 
and iSanuiel Sewall, afterwards Chief .Justice, to .settle, by a decision, ''wlu'rein 
both parties were blamed," and the assignment of locations was made .lanuary 
S, 1GH2, when others were given .seats in the pulpit, the deacons" .seat and at the 
(comnumion) table, respectively, by vote of thi- town. 

A pew in the gallery was reserved for negroes (slaves) of which there were 
twenty-si.x at the time of their abolition in 17S(). Hannibal, a slave of iJeacon 
John Lewis, was se.vton for many years, and the "allowyances to Deacon .John 
Lewis" on the account book are suppo.sed to have been for his .services. 

Among the iluties of .sexton as fixed February 2(», 1724-2.), was '"to turn 
the (hour) glass and to see that it may properly perform," an important function 
that the How of the sand should not be stopped when .sermons ranged from over 
an hour to nearly two hours in length. 

In the course of 14.") years the many repairs were accompanie<l by changes. 

In 17 It) porches were added and an oak pulpit and .sounding board im- 
ported from England; the latter can now be seen in the Second Universalist 
Meeting House. In 1737 a new roof was built and other extensive repairs made. 

The bell was in the o|)en on the bell deck until 1771, when the '"ornament 
designed by Mr. (Timothy?) Walton" as a belfry was built and gave to the 
building its time-honored nickname of the Old Tunnel. 

When the building was moved from the Conunon, this belfry remained on 
the grouml until .sold by auction, .\pril 23, 1S27, when it was moved through 
Market St., and to various sites and owners until 1.S42, when it was bought by 
John LeBeau, who moved it to bS Hutchin.son Court, where the belfry was u.sed 
as a shoemaker's sho]) by four workmen, and the owner lived in the ui)per or 
"tunnel" portion, until it was burneil .Suiulay evening, March 2.5, bS49. 

The building evidently hail a chimney, probably only in its later day.s, as 
bricks were among the ;u'ticles sold at the auction mentioned al)o\c. 

The bell was first referred to in Sanuiel SewalTs accoimt of the Council of 
1691. This bell was sent to lOngland in lt)'J".» in exchange for a new one, which 
later became cracked in celebrating the news of the I'eace of (ihent and the 
Battle of New Orleans, both of which reached Lynn by the same me.s.senger 
at 10 A.M., February 13, ISl.'). This was recast by Paid Revere A: Son in ISUi, 
and cracked by a lire alarm and recast by William Blake in 1.S7S, and is still 
in service in the Second rniver.salist Meeting Hou.se. 

The civic history of this remarkable edifice tenuinateil when the town 
gave the Parish .S2.")U, to which was added •'SKHI in subscriptions outside of the 
Parish, and the OKI Tunnel was moved to the corner of ."^outh Common and 
Connnercial Streets Ai)ril 11, 1S27, by Captain Jo.seph A. Lloyd, by means of 
ten yoke of oxen tlriven by David llarwood, and with many subseijuent en- 
largements constitutes the present Seconil I'niver.salisl Meeting Hou.se, where 
the old oak frame bids fair to remain staunch for as many years to come. 

Although built with funds obtained by g«'neral taxation, there is not in 
any of the records any f(uinal transfer or other reference to any consideration 
for this change of |)roperly from a public ownership to that of a religious .society, 
but in lack of any information to the contrary, it appears to have been a matter 
of common consent. 

In the perspective of j)re.sent years, the omi.ssions in tin- reconls of the past 
give rise to man}' interesting but un.solvable conjectures, ami it is sincerely 
hojM'd that the town records which contain substantially all the information 
of the vigorous patriotism of our forbears may be printed before destructive 
conditions render them illegible. 

C J. H. WuODUlKY. 



.. Programme .. 



3.00 P.M. 

©rgatt Prrlubr — F.antasie ..... Chistar Mcrkd 
l^gmn 1309 — '■Ux])ndge" .... Dr. Lmirll Mason 

{The rongregafiiin, null rixc. and Jain in. siii'iini/.) 

3luiioratiuu 

Rev. Fijedkric W. Perkins, D.D., Pastor First Cnirfrsalisl Clnirch. 

Sriiiratuiu A^^rrsa 

Benjamin Newhali. .Iohnson, Prefiiilcnf Jji/nn Historical Sorifti/. 
Antltrm — ".Terusalem, My Glorious Homo" Dr. Lon^dl Mason 

Arrpptanre nf tl^r (EitsUiiiu nf thr Sablrt 

Henry Richardson French, Chairman oj the Slainlinii Conunittrc 
and Assessors, First Congrrgation.'il Soricti/. 

irrijiturp — Ecelesiasticus XLIV, 1-10; Matthew V, 13 Ifi; 
Revelation XXI, 1-7. 
Rev. Albert Lazenby, Pastor Second ('ungrnjationid {U nitdrian) Sacicli/. 

SIl)p Hrlattnn nf tl|p (!IlT«rrl| tn tl^r (Ciltir ICifr nf thr Olnmmutiitij 

Rev. George William Oaven, Pastor First Fnn'intjidioii'd Church. 

Autlirm — "Festival Te Deum'' .... Diidlcii Buck 

Pnrm —"The Old Tunnel." Bn the late James Warren Newhall. 1S,S2 
Read by Eahl A. Mower. 

AbbrrsH nn brl^alf nf X\-\i (Hitg nf IGi|nn 

Arthur E. Santry, President oj the Common. Council. 

i^Umtt 1312— ''Duke Street" .... J.Hatton 

(The congreg(dio?i will rise ami join in singing.) 

^pupitirttnn 

R,ev. J. Franklin Knotts, Pastor First Methodist h'pisco/Kd Church 

PoBtlullr — "The Hallelujah ('horus," from "The Messiah" Ibindel 
Miss Mabel J. Vaughan, Organist. 

llnnrtliug 

Ajter the Service, the congregation will assemlde in jmnt oj the Mccting-House 
and sing "America," ivhen the Tablet irill be unreiled tyy Miss ^'IR^:IXIA Louise 
('arr, a descendant oj Rev. Stephen Bachiler, the jirst Minister oj this Church, 
1632-1G36. 



Lynn Historical Society 



KKN.IAMIX N'i;\VH.\IJ- .lOllXSOX, I'rexidcnl 

ClEORdl'. Ili;.\in' .MAKII.N, Vlrv-Prvshlcnt 
JOHN .\l.l{I{l':i:, lirrorilin;/ Sccrrtiiri/ 

W 1 1.1,1 AM STOCK I;K HlliUIIJ., ('orrespoiuliiu/ SecrHar;/ 
i:\i;i{i:i'l" lirnSOX black, Treasurer 



(Cniumittrr nt" tlir iCiiuu i{ii9toriral Sinrirtij 

Hi:XHV !■. I'AI'LIIV, Chitirmini 

C;I:0R(;K S. bliss, Secretary 

Hon. XATHAX .M. HAWKKS 

BKNUAMLX X. .lOILXSOX 

C. .1. II. WOODBURY 



Committrr of tljr IFirBt (Cnuarrnatinual yariiUi 

dUILFORI) S. Xi;\VHALL, Chairman 
I'ACL \V. BHICKETT 

nilRlillRT W. RICI". 

C. .). 11. WOODIUKV 



AMERICA 



1 My country! 't i.s of tiiee. 
Sweet land of lihortj*, 

Of thee I sing: 
Land wiiere my fatlier.s died! 
Land of tiie Pilfirini's pride! 
From every mountain .side 

Let freedom rinji! 

2 My native eoinitry, thee — 
Land of the noble free — 

Thy name — I love; 
I love thy roeks and rill.s, 
Thy woods and templed iiills: 
My heart with rapture tiwills 

Like that above. 



3 I^t mu.sie .swell the breeze, 
.And ring from all the tree.s 

Sweet freedom'.s sonp: 
Let mortal tongues awake; 
Let all that breathe partake; 
I. (I rocks their silence break.- 
iiir .sound prolong. 

I Our fathers' Cod! to Thee, 
Author of liberty, 

To Thee we sing: 
I>)ng may our lam I be liright 
With freedom's holy light; 
Protect us by Thy might. 
Great (!od, our King! 



Holding Pastorates in the Old Tunnel 



JEREMIAH SHEPARD 

Ordained, October 6, 1680. Died, June 2, 1720 

JOSEPH WHITING (Colleague) 

Ordained, October 6, 1680. Dismissed, July, 1682 

Died, April 7, 1723 

NATHANIEL HENCHMAN 

Ordained, December 17, 1720. Died, December 23, 1761 

JOHN TREADWELL 

Ordained, March 2, 1763. Dismissed, March, 1782 

Died, January 5, 1811 

OBADIAH PARSONS 

Installed, February 4, 1784. Dismissed, July 16, 1792 



Died, December, 1801 



THOMAS CUSHING THATCHER 



Ordained August 13, 1794. Dismissed, February 3, 1813 

Died, September 24, 1849 

ISAAC KURD, S.T.D. 

Ordained, September 15, 1813. Dismissed, May 22, 1816' 

Died, October 4, 1856 

OTIS ROCKWOOD 

Ordained, July 1, 1818. Dismissed, May 23, 1832 

Died, December 30, 1861 

All of the above were graduates of Harvard College. 

Ordination also included installation. Dismissals were made by ecclesiastic 
councils, which may have been initiated by either the Minister or the Church. 




DOXUIIS. 

Two beakers from L. '". (unknown) made by .lonx (Onv, wlio dicil in \~22. 

Two tankards and two beakers from Dr. John Hknuy Hikchstkd, Sept. 2."), 
1721, made by Andrkw Tylkk. 

Two tankards and two beakers from Hon. John Bihuim., Dec. 10, ITJl.made 
by Andrkw Tyler. 

Beaker from Ralph To.vkix, 1726, silvorsmitli unknown. 

Tankard from ("apt. John I^reed, Dec. 14, 172S, made by Jacob Hi hd. 

Tankard, two beakers and a bread plate from ("ol. Theophjlus Birrill, 
July 4, 1737, made by Jacob Hurd. 

One beaker, donor and silversmith unknown. 



This will be on exhibition in front of the pulpit after the Tal)iet is unveiled. 




LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



014 069 794 1 



THOS. P. NICHOLS i SONS, LYNN, MASS. 



